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Minnesota Puts 5 2009 Rock Cats On Big League Roster

February 18, 2010 - Eastern League (EL1)
New Britain Rock Cats News Release


New Britain, CT - With the opening of their 2010 Spring Training camp in Ft. Myers, Florida now just three days away, the Minnesota Twins - the American League's 2009 Central Division champions - have promoted five members of the 2009 New Britain Rock Cats to their 40-Man Major League Roster. The five talented players - four Pitchers and one Infielder - who recently received the good news are:

RHP Alex Burnett, a 25-year-old resident of Huntington, CA, made 40 appearances for the 2009 Rock Cats after his mid-season call up from Single-A Ft. Myers. The 6'0"/ 190-pound fireballer went 1-2, with a 1.79 ERA and 9 Saves out of the New Britain bullpen last year. The burly reliever was Minnesota's 12th Round selection out of Ocean View (CA) High School in the 2005 Draft;

RHP Rob Delaney, a 25-year-old native of Westwood, NJ, made 26 appearances out of the `09 New Britain bullpen prior to his June 2nd promotion to Triple-A Rochester. The 2006 free agent signee out of St. John's University (NY) went 1-1, with a 2.00 ERA in the Hardware City last year. His outstanding K/BB ratio was 40/6;

RHP Deolis Guerra, a 20-year-old native of Venezuela, posted a 6-3 record and 5.17 ERA in New Britain in 2009 after his mid-season call-up from the Florida State League. He was a perfect 4-0 at New Britain Stadium, including one complete game. Originally signed as a free agent by the New York Mets in 2005, he was part of the player package the Twins received in exchange for LHP Johan Santana in February of 2008;

RHP Loek Van Mil, a 25-year-old native of Oss, Netherlands and, at 7'1", the tallest player currently active in professional baseball, made 8 appearances out of the Rock Cats' bullpen in 2009. Following his August 13th promotion from Ft. Myers, the affable 222-pounder went 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA in New Britain;

3B Danny Valencia, a 25-year-old native of Boca Raton, FL began the 2009 campaign in New Britain, where he batted.284 (7 HRs /29 RBI) before being advanced to Triple-A Rochester on June 23rd. He proceeded apace in the International League, hitting.286 with 7 Home Runs and 41 RBI. The 6'2"/ 210-pound Valencia was taken by Minnesota in the 19th Round of the 2006 Draft out of the University of Miami.

The Twins also announced that they have extended invitations to next week's Major League Spring Training Camp to fourteen players who are not on their current 40-Man Roster. Nine of those happy invitees are gentlemen who had previously performed for the Rock Cats here in New Britain. They are:

Pitchers:

LHP Jose Lugo

RHP Anthony Slama

RHP Kyle Waldrop

Catchers:

Danny Lehmann

Infielders:

Brock Peterson

Steve Singleton

Outfielders:

Brian Dinkelman

Juan Portes

Rene Tosoni

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The Rock Cats extend their congratulations and best wishes to each of these former New Britain players as they resume their professional careers next week under the palm trees in Ft. Myers!

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